Strictly Business
by YoureMyFavoritex
Summary: Stella had a reason for being late; it was business. JONAS JoeStella. Companion piece to "Restricted Access".


**so a few people were wondering what might have kept Stella from Macy in Restricted Access, and that got me thinking... what _would ha_ve kept Stella? and with no texting to boot! so that's how this oneshot/companion piece to RA came to be! it's my first time writing, like _really_ writing, Stella, and I'm not too sure how she turned out. oh well. practice makes perfect, right? haha. **

**I would recommend reading my oneshot "Restricted Access" first, as this is a companion piece, and doesn't explain the scenario in much detail. in fact, it barely even mentions the Kacy. which is what RA is all about, pretty much. but you don't have to read it to understand this oneshot, it can be read as a stand alone.  
**

**"dedicated" to thiscoffeeshop and my untold fairy-tale, because you guys basically planted the question in my mind. and DACE, cause you girls are awesome. duh.**

**still don't own anything. I'm working on the rights to the show though. promise. ;)  
**

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"No prob, Mace. I'll see you soon." As Stella Malone turned, pushing her cell phone back into the pocket of her jeans, she was greeted by a worried Nicholas Lucas. "Relax, Nick. Macy won't maim you tonight. Give the girl a little credit. At least she tries."

Nick nodded, his eyes continuously flitting to the door behind him, leading from the greenroom to the dressing rooms. "No, I know. Macy. Backstage. That's fine."

"Then what's your deal? Oh, shit, did Frankie tell you? I'm so sorry, I told him not to play with your g…" Her voice faded as Nick's expression morphed into one of confusion. "Frankie was playing with what?"

"Nothing! I mean, definitely not your guitar or anything!" Stella over-exuberance caused the Lucas boy to wince, shaking his head. "Great. Perfect. I don't have time for this. _You_ don't have time for this."

"Why exactly don't I have time?" Stella raised an eyebrow, leaning into her hip as her arms crossed over her chest.

"Well, uh--"

"STELLA!" She blew past the stuttering youngest JONAS member and made a beeline towards the dressing rooms. "Joseph Lucas, what the hell did you do this time?"

Nick turned, rushing to keep up with Stella, and rested his hand on her upper arm. "I need you to know, I had absolutely nothing to do with this."

Stella let out a laugh, rolling her eyes. "Of course, Nick. You never do. It's always that idiot brother of yours." Her gaze hardened again, and she brought a hand to her forehead. "Joe is going to drive me to an early grave, I guarantee it."

The two turned a sharp corner, and Stella's purposeful, determined steps jostled her cell phone loose, sending it clattering to the floor. Any other time, Stella would have noticed and pounced, making sure absolutely nothing on her precious texting device had been harmed, but her mind was solely on Joseph Lucas at the moment, and any distractions or previous obligations had gone out the window. She stopped only to take a deep breath at the door of the dressing room before pushing though. "Joe?"

The middle Lucas brother stood with his back to the door, and as Stella uttered his name, her craned his neck, looking back at the two standing in the doorway. "Uhm, hi. I kind of have a problem."

"And that would be?" Joe looked away, seeming to be nervous about telling Stella about whatever happened, so she took matters into her own hands, looking around the room for a possible offender as she walked closer to the boy. She was close enough to touch Joe when she stopped suddenly, her eyes narrowing on a pitcher sitting on the counter. "Oh, God, Joe. Please no. Seriously?"

"Do you have anything to get Very Cherry Kool-Aid out of clothes?" Joe turned sheepishly to face Stella, and her eyes widened. Right smack dab in the middle of Joe's half buttoned jacket was a large red stain, spanning from the right breast pocket to the bottom hem.

"How did you do that," Stella deadpanned, her eyes locked on the stain. She maintained an eerie calm for about two seconds longer before bursting out in hysterics. "How did you even do that, Joe?! That's like, two full cups right there! I can't clean that! That jacket's an original, and dry clean only! Jesus, Joseph, do you ever think before you do _anything_?!"

Joe seemed very focused on something invisible on the floor, and mumbled something, too quiet for Stella to hear. "What, Joe? I couldn't understand you."

He looked up, still unable to make eye contact with the fiery blonde. "I tripped."

"Tell her over what," Nick snickered, leaning casually against the door. Joe glared at his younger brother, and kept quiet.

"No, Joe, tell me. What did you trip over?"

The room was silent for a moment before Joe muttered "my shoelace," his cheeks flushing as the words left his lips.

"Your SHOELACE?!" At this, Stella blew up. "You ruined my gorgeous, one of a kind jacket over your SHOELACE?!"

"Stel, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to… I'd never purposely ruin your creations! I mean, well…" The Van Dyke incident seemed to register through both of their minds, and Joe took a step backwards as Stella's glare intensified. He cringed, preparing for the worst, and squeezed his eyes shut, but after a good ten seconds of silence, Joe slowly took a peek at Stella. She had taken a few deep breaths, and now she seemed to be running possible solutions through in her mind. As angry as she was with Joe at the moment, she had a responsibility to the Lucas family, and the JONAS enterprise, and that came first, even before a problem with her best friend.

"Alright, Joseph, here's the deal. We only have about forty minutes before your call, and we have some major repair work to do. Basically, you need a whole outfit change. So that's what we are going to do. You," she turned, pointing a finger at Nick, "leave. Just… Go. I love you, kid, but you push one more button, his or mine, and you may not be physically able to go on stage tonight."

Nick raised his hands in surrender, chuckling lightly as he turned and walked out of dressing room and down the hall. Stella waited for him to leave, and as she turned around, Joe's cocky smirk was back on his face. "Thanks, Stel, I know I could count on--"

"Oh no, hold it right there, Joseph," she interrupted, holding a hand out to stop him. "I am so not happy with you at the moment. Right now, this is all business." Joe swallowed noticeably, and ducked his head down, breaking eye contact with the fuming girl. "Now give me your jacket. I need to get that sent out pronto."

Joe slipped the thick fabric off his shoulders and winced as he heard Stella gasp. "Through your jacket, Joe?!" The red stain remained on Joe's button up, though slightly smaller in diameter, and Joe hesitantly went to unbutton the shirt as well.

"Stop. I know it's on your t-shirt too. Jeez, Joe." Stella groaned, running her fingers roughly through her hair. "Alright, I'm gonna go back to the wardrobe room. I'll try piece something together under this short notice." Stella walked out of the room, mumbling under her breath about teenage boys and stupid mistakes. She passed Nick "relaxing" (i.e. eavesdropping) in the next room over, and spent a quick fifteen minutes among the racks of clothing, searching anxiously for a new ensemble for the middle Lucas. Once she was finally satisfied with an outfit, she piled the hangers into her arms and headed back to Joe's dressing room. Without hesitating to knock, Stella walked into the room… And stopped.

Joe didn't notice her entrance, and continued to wipe the damp towel across his torso, washing off the sticky Kool-Aid that had soaked through all three shirts and clung to his skin. Stella's jaw dropped, and she subconsciously licked her lips. She swallowed a few times, trying to regain the ability to speak, and finally she was able to squeak out a cough.

At the sound, Joe glanced up, wringing the towel nervously. "Did you find something?"

"M-m-mhm…" Stella stuttered, nodding quickly. She couldn't explain why she was suddenly so anxious and sidetracked. It's not like she had never seen Joe shirtless before. Hell, they had been best friends for years upon years. Pool parties were part of the package. But there was something about Joe tonight… She swallowed hard, trying to focus on the task at hand. Right now was strictly business.

"H-he-he-" Stella cleared her throat. "Here, try this on." She dropped the hangers on one of the plush chairs and pulled out one of the button ups. She held it out for him to slide an arm into, and then pulled it over his shoulders. As she adjusted the collar, her fingers brushed his bare collarbone. The sparks sent immediate shivers down her spine and her gaze shot up, locking eyes with Joe. She bit her lip, feeling incredibly out of control all of a sudden. Joe stared at her, his expression slightly glazed over, and reached out, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She subconsciously leaned into his hand, just enough for him to feel the push against his hand, and a smile worked its way onto his face. It was now or never.

Stella's eyes grew wide as she noticed Joe slowly lean closer to her. Her head was telling her to stop. To leave. To get as far away from this situation as possible. But not her heart. Her heart had a megaphone to it, and was yelling "GO GO GO!"

The moment their lips met, the simple action went from hesitant to needy. Stella's hands traveled from gripping his collar loosely to sliding under his shirt and around his neck, pulling herself flush against him. Joe wrapped his arms around her, pulling her as close to him as he could. He needed to feel her against him, to know she was there. Their lips moved together, deepening the kiss and exploring each other in the process. Stella wound her fingers in the baby hairs gathered at the nape of his neck, clinging to him desperately. His hands slid up and down her sides, memorizing her every curve. Every time one pulled away, the other pulled them back in.

"Wow," Stella whispered, touching her forehead to Joe's. She now had her back against the wall. Joe pressed his hands up against the wall on either side of her head, smiling down at the blonde. "Yeah." Stella leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his chest.

They stood in silence for what seemed like forever until Joe spoke up. "I've always wanted this, Stel."

"Really?"

Joe nodded. "Yeah. I didn't know if you felt the same way. Uhm… Do you?"

Stella looked up at him, a small smile growing. "Yeah. I just… I don't know. Will this make it weird? I mean, we're best friends, Joe. I don't want to ruin that!"

"Stel, Stel, relax!" He rested his hands on her shoulders, holding her out at arms length. "I like you. You like me. Please, that's enough. Let it be enough, Stella."

His earnest look killed her. There was no way she could say no. Her smile grew, and she hugged him closer to her. "Okay," she whispered, burying her face further into his chest. She inhaled, the aroma of Joe's cologne and Very Cherry Kool-Aid wafting through her senses. She giggled, then pulled back, the facts of the evening flooding her mind. It was still the night of the concert, they still only had about thirty minutes before call time, and Joe was still relatively shirtless thanks to a sugary stain. She reached up, placing a light kiss on Joe's lips before grabbing his hand and pulling him back over to the chair covered in hangers and shirts. "Now put these on. You have to go on soon."

He looked at her, grinning, and gave her hand a tight squeeze. "You always take care of me."

"Strictly business, Joseph." He winked, and she rolled her eyes, laughing. "Now go. Really, we have like no time."

Stella walked over to the mirror as Joe began pulling on the layers. Giving herself a quick once-over, she smiled. Sure, she looked tousled. Her hair was untamed, her cheeks flushed, her lips swollen. But on top of all that, she looked happy. She ran her fingers through her hair to settle it, but other than that, she decided she was good to go.

She turned to her right and met Joe's gaze. He watched as she smiled shyly up at him, and he reached out, grabbing her hand. "Ready to go? I do have thousands of adoring fans waiting for me, you know." Stella rolled her eyes again, slapping him lightly on the shoulder. "Whatever. I'm sure all your thousands of adoring—Oh. Oh no. Oh, oh shit. Shit shit shit." Stella jumped back, digging her hands into her pockets in search of her phone. "Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no."

"Stel, what's wrong?"

"Macy!" she exclaimed, turning and booking it out of dressing room. Joe was hot on her heels, walking quickly to keep up with her. "What are you talking about?"

"Right before your little… incident," she explained, raising an eyebrow in the direction of the pile of stained clothing, "I was supposed to go meet Macy by the doors to backstage. And then I got sidetracked. And I don't have my phone. Shit. God knows where she is now!" Stella was talking a mile a minute, all the while traveling at unrivaled speeds down the hallway towards the greenroom.

"Looking for this?" Stella stopped short, turning and narrowing her eyes at the youngest and member. Nick smirked, holding out her cellphone. "I found it in the hallway, it must have dropped out one of the times you were rushing through."

If Stella hadn't been so wrapped up in her current major dilemma, she would have thanked Nick profusely. However, she didn't have time for thank yous at the moment. "Shit. Look at these texts and voicemails! Look at this!" She shoved the phone in Joe's face, and he took a step back, letting out a laugh. His laughter cut short with one glare from Stella. "Sorry, Stel. It's not funny."

"You're right, it's not. And… Oh no."

"What?" Nick leaned over her shoulder, trying to read whatever had caused Stella to start mumbling profanities under her breath.

_WHERE ARE YOU? I got in trouble by security, Im in the backstage office. You better be here in moments, or Im going to be RIPSHIT._

"Uh oh," Nick agreed. "We should probably go find her."

"I am such a horrible friend!" wailed the blonde, sprinting down the hall and into the greenroom, out of view of the two brothers. Nick turned to look at Joe, who had been watching Stella. "Soooo," he began in a singsong voice. "Match made in heaven?"

"Shut up, man," Joe muttered good-naturedly, giving his younger brother a shove before following the path that Stella had taken. Running into the greenroom, he saw the blonde standing the doorway, seeming to be talking to someone he could just barely make out what she was saying. "I can't believe that… Oh. Well. Uhm."

"Stel, who're you talking…" Skidding to a stop next to Stella, Joe took in the sight that had left Stella all but speechless. "Oh."

Nick appeared next to Joe within seconds. "Hey guys, what's all the… Oh. Hello, you two."

Macy and Kevin were standing in front of the three, his arm around the small brunette, and her head tucked softly against his shoulder. They seemed too close to be just friend, and Stella's eyes began to widen and shine when she realized what had, or possibly what was about to happen. Her hand shot out, finding Joe's arm, and grasped it tightly. "Well then. I can see that me being late wasn't really a problem." She giggled, winking, and turned back into the greenroom, dragging a stunned Joe behind her. They had nearly rounded the corner when Joe seemed to come to his senses, registering what had hit Stella only moments before. "Go Kevin!" he shouted over his shoulder, and Stella gave him a quick jab of the elbow.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Stella rolled her eyes as Joe gingerly rubbed the side of his ribcage, ignoring his oblivious question. Instead, she reached out, grabbing his hand in hers and intertwining their fingers.

"Come on popstar. We've got some business to take care of."

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**so there it is, my first go at Jella (Joella? Stello? I don't know. I like Jella. haha). I hope you guys liked it! it's not my best work, by far, but it was more seeing where the idea took me, not writing an amazingly incredible oneshot. this was really little to no planning. just structured around what had already been in the other oneshot. so yeah. I hope it turned out at least decent! **

**thanks for reading, and let me know your thoughts! your reviews mean the world to me, and I appreciate each and every one of them :)  
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